Procrastination is a top concern when it comes to long-term care planning. If you wait until the time has passed when care is already needed, your options may be greatly limited. Despite this, many people put off elder care planning to their own potential detriment. There are several reasons why people tend to procrastinate. Elder Care Direction encourages people to plan now before it is too late.
Why do people procrastinate?
There are several reasons why people procrastinate their elder care planning, including the following:
- They don’t want to think about their own potential for mental incapacity or mortality;
- They don’t want to pay fees to draft their estate plans;
- They don’t want to have to think about how to divide their estates;
- They don’t want to think about giving up their autonomy; and
- They worry that their children will put them in nursing homes if they are given authority to make decisions.
Reasons why you should start planning your estate early
There are several reasons why you should start planning your estate earlier instead of later. If you reach a point of mental incapacitation or incompetence, you will not be able to execute any documents. This can pose an array of issues for your family. Court actions may become necessary for your family to gain access to your health and financial records. These court actions are very time-consuming, invasive and expensive.
Incompetent people are also unable to make any end-of-life decisions, bequests, health care decisions and others. If you become incompetent and have not planned your estate, your children will be left to speculate about what you might want. By documenting your desires well in advance, problems may be eliminated.
In addition, if you become incapacitated, you will be unable to make decisions regarding your residential living options. While you may not want to give up your freedom, it is important for you to clearly communicate your residential living choices in the event that you are no longer able to remain in your home. By touring assisted living facilities well in advance of when you might need to move into one, you can find the setting that appeals to you the most and find ways in which to pay for it.
If your family is left to guess what you might want or what is best for you, conflicts can easily arise. When you instead provide them with clarity through your written estate plan, you can help to prevent family conflicts. This can help to prevent your family members from becoming strained in their relationships with each other.
Planning early for your long-term care can give you many more financial options to pay for it than if you fail to plan in advance. If you wait too long, you may not be able to secure long-term care insurance. You may also be forced to pay for care out of your pocket until you can become Medicaid-eligible without advance Medicaid planning. When you determine how to address your planning prior to needing care, many of the problems that might otherwise arise can be prevented.
Contact Elder Care Direction
Elder Care Direction provides comprehensive planning services for families and their loved ones. We can help you to think through your end-of-life care needs so that you can develop a robust plan that might help you and your family to avoid many different issues. To learn more, contact Elder Care Direction today to schedule your consultation, or complete and submit our contact form, and we will get back to you shortly.
